Kami no Keikaku
by Uena
Summary: After sacrificing himself for the world, Minato's soul lives on in Hamuko. She will brave The World where gods meddle with the lives of mortals, making the most of her life with this second chance. Takes place after Episode Aigis/The Answer and during Persona 4.


I'd just like to say that I edited this Chapter, and that I'm working on the second chapter after months of no progress.

Well, I should say this fic is inspired by a couple of fics that jump-started this idea.

Read on then.

_Julyanne_: Hello, I'm a Rune Fairy, and I'll be presenting the disclaimer. -Ahem-

Characters, art, and storylines depicted in the game(and this fiction) are purely work of fiction. Any similarities to persons living or dead is purely consequential. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of Atlus USA or its employees.

That said, Hirume is NOT part of Atlus USA.

Did I forget anything...? Oh! Hirume doesn't own Persona 3, 4, or -filtered- but does own a Persona 3 FES CD, Persona 4 CD, and a laptop with a burnt Video Card that restarts, hangs, and gets the Blue Screen of Death! when you so much as drop a tissue on it. And the rune fairies. There are three by the way, but Hirume says I'm the sanest one. By the way, does that mean we're slaves?

* * *

**Chapter one: Kimi no Kioku/Memories of You**

* * *

Vibrant blood-red eyes slowly opened, the misty lights of the room giving their clouded gaze a stronger feel. They blinked once, twice, before registering what they were seeing and turned from the velvet carpeting to the man seated over to the other side of the room.

"Ah, I see you're awake." The hunchbacked man with the most peculiar nose said. "Welcome to the Velvet Room."

The girl felt a smile worm its way to her face and tried to speak, but no words came out. Instead, she settled to just mouthing what she thought was the man's name.

"Igor."

The simple gesture earned her a pleased grin from the man that looked strange with his blood shot eyes and frail, folded hands. He waved a hand to his side, emphasizing the space beside him. "I apologize for my assistants' absence this evening. Your predicament caused quite a stir, but they did ask me to tell you 'Welcome Back.'"

The girl nodded taking in the features of the room she's in. For some reason, she imagined that it was supposed to resemble an old fashioned elevator, but instead looked like a bizarre mix of a 16th century galleon and a planetarium.

The Velvet carpeting and furniture is the only thing from her vision of the elevator room that remained, but where the elevator used to show the continuous rising of the room is a large bay window that takes up one whole side of the room, giving view to the world outside. A sea of stars and a partially shaded orb of blue and green made the girl wonder if she's somewhere in outer-space, but the seemingly thin glass of the window made her skeptical about that.

Above the table centerpiece laid a blank canvas, paired with the table is the 'original' set of furnishing, two being used by the only occupants of the room.

Everything in the room is perceived clearly despite the lighting, contrasting the dream-like quality the room has.

Igor chuckled at the girl who continued to marvel at the sight. "This room reflects your perception of the world and the sea of your soul. A place between dreams and reality, mind and matter. It is this room that only people who have signed a contract may enter. The changes you see right now shows that something has changed in you."

The girl seemed to think about his words before allowing him to continue. She'll ponder about the bizarre later, for now she has to listen to what Igor has to say.

"Now, you may be asking why you are here, correct?" The girl nodded, earning another chuckle from Igor. "Do not worry, this is all a result of your previous Journey, or should I say a reward earned by a fragment of your soul. Everything you are about to receive, you have earned. All you have to do is to walk through that door and continue on with your life."

Igor raised a hand to point behind the girl, who stood up and bowed before him.

"Be warned, the life you are about to return to will not be your old one. His has passed, the one you will be taking is different and unique, but worry not for everything has been taken care of for you."

When she straightened up, tears had already formed at the corner of her eyes. She walked to the glowing velvet door and grabbed the knob. She turned back to look at him one more time before opening it to reveal blinding light from the other side.

"Oh, and" Igor called "The seal has been taken care of. Till we meet again Minato-sama."

* * *

The first thing to pass through the girl's mind is that her head hurts and that she can't remember anything. Maybe it had to do with what Igor said, about her having a 'second life'.

Or maybe it was because she's in the hospital. Yeah, that makes more sense.

A nurse that came in sometime during lunch confirmed that, and her to be stable. He also told herself to rest easy and said that the doctor in charge of her will be with her later on in the day. No lunch though.

She spent the time between the meeting (which is unfortunately in the afternoon) sorting through her memories, and checking herself. Not much luck with her memories, a total blank. Physical examination it is. Hopefully she isn't missing a limb... or two.

Looking down at herself now clad in a pristine white hospital gown, she noted that she's a healthy, albeit pale and skinny girl around 18 or so. Brown hair framed her face, flowing just past her shoulders. A glance to the window reflected blood-red eyes, looking perfect with her flawless face.

Satisfied with her little observation, she realized that she's currently in one of the private rooms in the hospital, a little after lunch if the bright sky and singing birds are anything to go by.

Just then, a sharp pain assaulted her, forcing her to hold her head in a futile effort to lessen the agony. Images, names, events and other information flashed before her, ingraining a life's worth of memories into her. As something resurfaced in her, some slipped away to the deepest pits of her and soon enough the bizarre room and everything related was soon forgotten. The pain receded, and the girl remembered who she is.

Kiboumi Hamuko, a girl who slipped into a coma the summer of 2010. She got involved in an accident while hanging out with Iwasaki Rio, a dedicated member of the Tennis team.

Apparently, they just finished an exhibition match and was about to head over to Paulownia Mall for Rio's date with her childhood friend when an accident at Moonlight Bridge sent both of them over the rail and down to the water below. Or at least that's what she thinks happened. She blacked-out as soon as her head slammed on something.

Hamuko was broken out of her musings when the door to her room clicked open and a familiar figure walked in. Wow, the sun's setting. It's this late already?

Said figure had her head down with both hands holding on to her school bag. The few strands of hair that aren't kept in her ponytail covers her face, the shoulders drooped and a weary sigh escaped as the girl closed the door behind her. She stayed there for a while leaning against the door seemingly gathering her courage.

The Brown-eyed girl counted the times her friend sighed before the girl managed to move closer to her. Six and a half times. How did she managed a half sigh? Well, Rio was always amazing like that.

Rio wiped her face in case some tears managed to escape. She wouldn't visit her friend looking down, even if her friend had been in a coma for months now. The girl's energetic and optimistic nature would hate her for visiting as if she's attending a funeral. At least she still had the chance to wake up and live her life, right?

The black haired girl pushed off the door, slapped herself on the cheeks and then plastered on a smile as she approached. She froze, however, when the supposed-to-be-in-a-coma patient turned from gazing out the window to look at her.

"Hey." The bed-ridden girl's raspy, scratchy, almost inaudible voice said to her. The post-afternoon sun shined a perfect halo around her, making her appear like a true angel, something Rio would readily believe. So it was perfectly understandable why she caught herself gaping. Her friend never looked so... otherworldly as she did now. The image shattered however when Hamuko suddenly pouted and talked again. "Do you always visit me like that? You look like you just played and lost three straight matches."

Her little joke was ignored in favor of the girl latching on to her and shedding tears of joy. She buried herself into the other girl's chest to not only hide her tears, but to confirm that it was not all a cruel dream and that her friend is still in the hospital asleep.

Hamuko caressed the girl listening to the repetitive words of gratitude. It took her the better part of the hour to calm her friend down, in which by then night has fallen. The same nurse from the morning came to check up on her, but after a short consideration left the two alone. He said that he'll be back before visiting hours end.

"So." Hamuko started, Rio claiming the seat near the bed. Hamuko noticed that the tennis player had the standard Gekkoukan uniform on (for her). So, the school must have started and Rio came here after classes. Did she attend the club? She doesn't have her racket with her. All of those thoughts raced through her mind, but once question in particular stood among the rest. "How long was I out?"

The bright smile directed at her dimmed a bit as the girl spoke. "Today is January 31, 2011. You were in a coma for more than 4 months."

"Ah, I see." Hamuko's expression didn't change, but it was clear to the other girl that she is obviously sad about what it meant for her. "Sorry Rio, you'll have to wait for a year before we can play together. You alright playing Singles till I catch up?"

"D-don't say that Hamuko! We're friends, right? Of course I'll wait." Rio moved to sit beside the Brown-eyed girl wrapping her in a loose hug around the several tubes connected to the hospital equipment. "I'll help you! You're strong and smart, I'm pretty sure you can catch up with me pretty soon!"

The two enjoyed the slight contact in the warm, comfortable silence. It was Hamuko who broke it.

"Thank you." She said, leaning her head on Rio.

"I should be thanking you." She replied.

"For what?" Hamuko asked, her face scrunching to think of any reason for her friend to thank her.

"For saving my life, and also getting Kenji and I together."

"... It worked?"

Rio laughed a little, pulling back to sit on the chair. "Well, not it the way you planned, but yeah."

"How did it happen?" Her throat hurt, but she wanted to keep on talking, even if she knows it wouldn't do her any good to speak right now.

"Let's just say..." The tennis player smiled a wistful smile "He knows how to comfort a sad girl."

The Brown-eyed girl tilted her head, confusion evident on her face. She smiled though, so that Rio wouldn't feel disappointed.

And so, Rio continued on the discussion about school, what she missed, and the last four months she was out.

Sometime later, Hamuko found herself alone again in her private room. Rio left for home as the next day was a school day. The nurse kept his promise and dropped by again accompanied by the doctor. After a quick check of the IV, reports and a test of her muscles the doctor smiled at her.

"Well Kiboumi-san, from our records it seems that you're quite healthy. Although, since you've been in a coma for a long time, there might be some things we have missed. I'd like you to stay here and bear us till we run some more tests just to be sure."

Hamuko nodded, marvelling at how the liquid in the IV works. Drip, drip, drip.

"Do you have any discomforts whatsoever?"

The clock struck twelve, and the Brown-eyed girl shook her head. She looked at him behind his frameless glasses, the brightest smile on her face. "My legs are stiff, and it's hard to use my voice. But no, no discomforts."

That morning, Hamuko was given a test after a rather awkward breakfast. The results of her exam were to be announced on the 13th, by then she would already be let out and attending school for a week.

Several complications greeted the Brown-eyed girl when she was released from the hospital.

First, she's recovering from the malnutrition of the past four months. The nutrition from the IV and muscle can only do so much.

Second, she's currently disabled and confined to a wheel chair. She broke her legs during the incident. Coupled with the common problems a post-coma patient experiences, she'll need support to walk until around June or July.

Lastly, there's school. She missed more than a semester, which disqualifies her from graduating. Though a special permission from the principal allowed her to attend the remaining school days, but she still has to repeat the year.

Throughout her ordeal, her friends and housemates supported her, but even then she is unable to fully recover. Finally, the time for graduation arrived.

* * *

The song "Time" flowed from Hamuko's headphones hanging around her neck as she watched her friends, classmates, and schoolmates each step on the stage to receive their diplomas. Currently, she's still confined to a wheelchair, but that doesn't stop her from coming to the ceremony.

Most of the people in attendance have smiles on their faces, some crying joyful tears, but there is a handful whose hearts are not in the program. Two of them, a brown haired boy around twelve and a silver-haired teen that Hamuko recognized as an alumnus of the school are seated to the left of her.

Both have distant looks on their faces, but would snap to attention when students they recognize are called, ("Iori Stupei" "Aww, come ON! It's JUNpei!") smile, clap, then continue to mull over their thoughts. The silver-haired alumni would also occasionally steal glances at her, but otherwise leave her alone.

The guest speaker, Mitsuru Kirijo, also wasn't paying much attention to the ceremony, but the Brown-eyed girl chalked it up with the responsibilities and problems a company lead faces. She doesn't know how much work the Kirijo head has piled up at her desk, but to be fair she has to be really distracted not to notice Mr. Edogawa waving a hand- Oh, wait. He's waving one of those abominable concoctions in her face. Why he keeps on making those, she and the health committee doesn't know, but it makes the students more reluctant to enter the nurse's office. Ah, Mitsuru just noticed him.

Turning away from the disaster in making (did she just see ice crystals forming around her?) she leaned back on her wheelchair and waited for the ceremony to end.

The past month left her with mixed feelings. Her friends have been doting to the point of annoying. In fact, it reached the level where she feels like glass among them. As thankful as she is to the others, it left her fatigued more often than not.

She watched Rio and Kenji's, Rio's childhood friend, relationship develop. It surprised her how far they have gotten over the past months. Sometimes when they hang out together, she becomes a witness to the shameless PDAs the two share with each other leaving her blushing for the three of them. It brings a smile to her face to think that she played a role to get the two together, even if she got caught in a disaster for that to happen. She doesn't regret it though, and would gladly do it again (albeit without the coma)

She relived the moments with Hasegawa Saori, whom she had the pleasure of working with in the health committee, and Fushimi Chihiro, an androphobic member of the student council she befriended while in Hamuko's term as Events Organizer during her junior year. Both became quite independent and more confident of themselves. She knows that Chihiro had someone else besides her to help overcome her fear of men, but for the life of her couldn't remember his name, much less what he looks like. Saori, for her part, left school before finishing her year, but did often send messages to her. She must have been worried that she forgotten about her during the 4 month gap of not being able to reply to her.

Hamuko remembered more good times she spent in the city, times she spent passing the day by the park, or living it out with her friends. Strange thing is, she remembers some odd stuff, like hanging out with Kenji, who she knows she hasn't met before she set him and Rio up on a blind-date before the incident.

"Arisato-senpai" The boy from earlier muttered, catching the attention of both Hamuko and the silver-haired alumni. She knows that name, no- it's a name she holds as dear as her own.

"What about him?" The alumni asked after a short pause, either from surprise or confusion, probably both.

"Nothing, it's just..." The boy sighed "It's strange not seeing him around the others, even if it has been over a year now."

The alumni nudged the boy, looking at a group of graduating students that gathered together. The four formed a circle but left a spot between the only male and the blonde girl wearing what seem to be earphones. "Hey, he did that so that we can live on with normal lives, remember? Just live the best you can, that's the only way we can make it up to him."

"... He's coming back, right?" The boy asked, though downcast.

"With everyone working on that, I believe he would." A grim silence fell upon the two, leaving Hamuko slightly guilty for eavesdropping on their conversation. For some reason, she felt that she has the right to know how they are doing.

"...I hope this graduation would end soon." The girl said to herself.

Kirijo Mitsuru's speech signalled the end of the graduation, and the cliques gathered together for what could be their final meeting. Sanada Akihiko, the alumni, and Amada Ken, the boy with him, went with Mitsuru and four other graduates to the back of the school after the greetings.

Rio and Kenji headed for Paulownia Mall where Hamuko and a few other batchmates will meet up later. Hamuko's parents who returned to Japan from their over-seas work had to leave that morning, but they gave her their well-wishes and apologies for not being there for her especially now that her condition worsened and leaving her with the family servants (again) for the next year or so.

Slowly, the people filtered out of the auditorium, and Hamuko asked the day's helper to bring her back home to wait for the time to pass till their meeting.

* * *

In the car, she strapped on the safety belt as she waited for Shirogane-san to finish his fight in getting her wheelchair inside the trunk. A heavy thump and an over-enthusiastic "YES!" declared his victory and Hamuko had to suppress the giggle at her servants' antics. She almost felt sorry for him when she saw the expression on his face when she told him that she forgot her medication on the back pocket of the wheelchair.

After the little mishap where she remembered that she placed it on the dash-board compartment, which by then Shirogane-san already brought out the chair, they finally rolled out of Gekkoukan High and down the tree-lined road.

As the car drove past under blossoming Sakura trees, the brown-eyed girl spotted the same group of graduates from earlier with the two alumni, the kid and a white dog crossing the intersection. She met eyes with one of them, a blonde wearing headphones, as they passed them.

"Aigis...?" Recognition struck her for a second, and she felt strangely close to her. The feeling vanished as soon as Shirogane-san rolled up her window.

"Apologies, Ojou-sama, but you might catch something." He only chucked as the girl complained how pampered she'd been since her coma.

"...Hm? Ai-chan, somethin' the matter?"

The Aigis snapped out of her daze and watched the black car driving away from them. She turned to stare at her friends on the sidewalk before looking up to gaze at the sky above. "I... thought I heard someone call me."

"Ah, nostalgia eh?"

"Give her a break Junpei." One of the girls wearing a heart-shaped choker said "Besides, do you even know what nostalgia means?"

"Course I do." He shrugged, and began walking again. "It's such a perfect day! Let's celebrate!"

* * *

**To be continued**

* * *

After-notes:  
I'm compelled to call this post-notes, but that makes me think of post-its. You know, those yellow square papers you often find in offices?

So, do I have anything to say? Well, I can't wait to get to chapter 2, where most of the story is... Aside from that? Eh... Oh! If you find any Typo, tell me. I'm weak with tenses, so you don't have to point out that I make a lot of mistakes with those.

Hmm... I should go ahead and say this, but originally Minato was supposed to be Hamuko, as in Minato in Hamuko's body. As fun writing it sounds, it would create a complication later on in the story. Yeah, I got stuck there for a while until I thought of my current concept. I'll explain it later on as the story progresses.

Ah, before you get any ideas, no. Shirogane-san is not related to Shirogane Naoto. Also, I apologize if there is no Persona 4 material here. I'm just tying up the loose strings and I'm all set to go.

See you next time! Stay magical!


End file.
